


A Love Story

by ithilien22



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-03
Updated: 2008-01-03
Packaged: 2017-12-21 04:50:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/895996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ithilien22/pseuds/ithilien22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts simply from a shared desire to look after a certain little girl who has lost everything. But over the years they accidently build a life together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Love Story

_(Once upon a time, there was a girl who had already lost one set of parents and couldn’t bear the thought of losing another…)_

*

It’s subtle things at first: almost from the day they move in together, Molly is constantly coming up with things to do to fix up Mohinder’s bachelor apartment that neither man could really do by himself and would therefore _have_ to ask the other to help him to accomplish. (The apartment does become a much more livable place as a result, of course). And then, by the second day of school, she develops a sudden interest in soccer which not only keeps her after school each day but also means that, more often than not, the two of them are left with a few hours on Saturdays to just hang out in the apartment together while they wait for her to be dropped back home after practice. (They do get to know each other rather well during these afternoons, although Mohinder is sure that he will never understand American football, no matter how many times Matthew explains it to him).

Eventually, it progresses to more direct incidents: like the time Matt’s about to leave the apartment on his first date since the divorce when Molly suddenly remembers that it’s parent night at her school, and didn’t Matt and Mohinder say they wanted to make a good impression by going to those types of things together? (Matt still finds it harder to control his ability in large crowds and some of the things he hears the single moms think about Mohinder that night might just scar him for life). Or like how one day Matt comes home from work early and finds Molly has accidentally erased all the messages on the phone and only remembers two weeks later that there _might_ have been one for Mohinder from the pretty brunette who always flirts with him at the deli when they go to buy groceries. (Around the same time, she had also insisted they stop going to that particular grocery store, as she had gotten on a new health food kick). 

But it’s not until Matt’s new girlfriend Trish storms out of the apartment one night right before dinner that Matt starts to get suspicious. He chases her down the hall and even though he can’t catch her before she gets in the cab, he still gets a pretty clear glimpse of her thoughts and he has to force himself to count to ten outside the apartment door to calm himself down before he can go back inside. After Molly has been tucked into bed, Matt and Mohinder sit on the couch in the living room and Matt tells Mohinder what he heard in Trish’s mind. Then he begins to list off the other things that have slipped by his notice in the past few months but that he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about for the past couple of hours. When he’s finally finished, they sit in silence for a few moments – each lost in their own thoughts. (Matt gave up on listening to Mohinder’s thoughts a long time ago, considering that they’re rarely in English).

After a few moments, Mohinder begins to laugh. His laugh is fairly contagious and soon Matt joins him. The whole situation is so ridiculous and ironic that they laugh for what seems like hours, until tears are streaming down their faces. Just when one man is about the sober up, the other laughs and it sets them off all over again. (They both know it’s really not very funny, though). Eventually the laughter fades away and both men are left feeling extremely tired. They sit next to each other on the couch all night. And even though they don’t talk, by the time Molly wakes up in the morning a unanimous decision has been made. 

Seven years later, Matt is boxing up some clothing for Molly to take to college when Molly sits down heavily on the bed beside him. She looks up at him with sad eyes and tells him that she’s sorry she was such a horrible, selfish little girl. Matt isn’t having any of it, so he wraps his arms around her and tells her to stop talking such nonsense. But she pulls away from his embrace and tells him that no, if it wasn’t for her he would be married and have a family of his own right now. I do have a family of my own, he replies solemnly. But you could’ve had a wife, she sniffles. I have Mohinder, he responds without thinking and this sets them both off into fits of giggles. (When Mohinder walks in several moments later, he’s still wearing his apron from fixing dinner – they refuse to tell him what is so funny).

When they all say their goodbyes at the train station several hours later, Molly kisses both of her fathers on the cheek and they do their best to pretend that they aren’t crying. (Matt’s allergies are acting up; Mohinder thinks maybe he got something in his eye). They come back home to their empty apartment and Matt goes straight to the fridge, pulling out two beers and handing one to Mohinder. They sit at the kitchen table in silence, both thinking about the little girl who brought them together and how she’s now off on her own in the world. For the next few days, every time the phone rings they fight over it like little kids and Molly’s laughter rings out through the whole apartment.

Everyone, including Molly, assumes that Matt will move out eventually, now that Molly is off at college. Everyone, that is, except for Mohinder or Matt. The thought honestly never occurs to either man. One day, Petrelli finally brings it up to Matt for the first time and Matt tells Mohinder about it when he gets home. Mohinder shrugs and asks Matt if he wants to leave. Matt shrugs back and answers, not really. (Matt almost tells Mohinder that he can’t even imagine leaving the life they’ve built together, but he decides that would be entirely too _gay_ ). They don’t really talk about it after that. And eventually, after a few years, their friends stop trying to set them up anymore. 

One year, Molly surprises them both by throwing them a twenty year anniversary party. It’s supposed to be sort of a joke, but both men are more touched than they’ll admit. Molly can’t help smiling all night and neither, she notices, can her dads. After everyone has left and Molly has retired to her old bedroom, Matt and Mohinder sit side by side on the old couch and toast to each other. (Although, Matt’s damn allergies are acting up again). When Molly wakes up in the morning, she finds them asleep, Mohinder’s head resting on Matt’s shoulder. And she can’t help the tears that fall when she thinks about how lucky she really is.

* 

_(And they lived happily ever after)._


End file.
